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(Trends Wide) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, called on state school boards to remove the books he described as “pornography,” a move that came after at least two state lawmakers asked officials to investigate what books are there. in the schools.
Abbot’s letter, sent to the Texas School Boards Association on Monday, did not cite a specific book containing what he described as “pornography.” Last week, Texas Republican Legislator Jeff Cason issued a statement calling on the state attorney general to investigate books he also described as “pornography.” In her statement, she highlighted Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer” graphic novel.
This is not the first time that a Kobabe book and other books with LGBTQ content have been targeted by politicians and community members.
Another district in Keller, a city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, withdrew Kobabe’s book after receiving complaints that it contained “inappropriate images.”
“Illustrations of this type should never be available in the school setting. Ensuring that our curricular materials are appropriate for students is a priority for Keller ISD. We are changing the process we use to review and approve books and related materials to prevent future incidents. “the district said in a statement shared with Trends Wide.
LGBTQ book author says she’s surprised
In Iowa last week, the Waukee Community School District removed “Gender Queer” and two other LGBTQ books from the Northwest High School library after a community member read sexual excerpts from the books during a meeting of the board on Oct. 25, school district spokeswoman Amy Varcoe told Trends Wide by email.
“Gender Queer”, a story about the passage from grim to childhood, was published two and a half years ago, and is about gender and sexuality. Its author, Maia Kobabe, only found out that she was being challenged in schools in September.
“What alerted me was that I was being tagged in a short Instagram video of one of the Fairfax County, Virginia school board meetings,” Kobabe told Trends Wide.
Since then, Kobabe discovered that “Gender Queer” has been banned or challenged in school libraries in at least seven states.
“The challenges are happening so fast now that I can barely keep up with them,” Kobabe said.
Kobabe wants people who call porn the “queer gender” to read the entire book.
“Read the whole thing and judge for yourself. Don’t just rely on one or two little clips you’ve seen on social media,” Kobabe said.
Kobabe said libraries offer a safe space for someone trying to find out about themselves, especially if it is a topic they are not comfortable with.
